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Religious Uses: Pagan, Hebrew, and Christian: Hindu

As compared with the description in Revelations we cannot fail to note the lack of definiteness. Instead of the well-ordered scheme of color as represented by the twelve precious stones dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel, the mystic Hindu city is simply a gorgeous mass of the most brilliant gems known in India.

The poetic description of the royal city Kusavati, given in the Maha Sudassana Suttanta, may perhaps have originated in some tradition regarding Ecbatana or Babylon. Seven ramparts surrounded Kusavati, the materials being respectively gold, silver, beryl, crystal, agate, coral and (for the last) "all kinds of gems." In these ramparts were four gates-one of gold, one of silver, one of crystal and one of jade-and at each gate seven pillars were fixed, each three or four times the height of a man and composed of the seven precious substances that constituted the ramparts. Beyond the ramparts were seven rows of palm trees, the fourth row having trunks of silver and leaves and fruit of gold; then followed palms of beryl, with leaves and fruit of beryl; agate palms, whose fruit and leaves were of coral, and coral palms, with leaves and fruit of agate; lastly, the palms whose trunks were composed of "all kinds of gems," had leaves and fruits of the same description, "and when these rows of palm trees were shaken by the wind, arose a sound sweet and pleasant, and charming and intoxicating." (Bhuddist Suttas, trans. from Pali by T. W. Rhys Davids; "Sacred Books of the East," vol. xi, Oxford, 1881.) In Greek literature also there is a "gem-city,"-namely, the city of the Islands of the Blessed, described by Lucian in his Vera Historia. (Lib. ii, cap. 11. Luciani Opera, ex recog. C. Jacobitz, vol. i, Leipzig, 1884.) The walls of this city were of emerald, the temples of the gods were formed of beryl, and the altars therein of single amethysts of enormous size. The city itself was all of gold as a fit setting for these marvellous gems. Hindu mythology tells of a wonderful tank formed of crystal, the work of the god Maya. Its bottom and sides were encrusted with beautiful pearls and in the centre was a raised platform blazing with the most gorgeous precious stones. Although it contained no water, the transparent crystal produced the illusion of water, and those who approached the tank were tempted to plunge into it and take a refreshing bath in what appeared to be clear, fresh water. (Surindro Mohun Tagore, "Mani Mala," Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881.) The Kalpa Tree of Hindu religion, a symbolical offering to the gods, is described by Hindu poets as a glowing mass of precious stones. Pearls hung from its boughs and beautiful emeralds from its shoots; the tender young leaves were corals, and the ripe fruit consisted of rubies. The roots were of sapphire; the base of the trunk of diamond, the uppermost part of cat's-eye, while the section between was of topaz. The foliage (except the young leaves) was entirely formed of zircons. (Surindro Mohun Tagore, "Mani Mala," Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881.) The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Heuen Tsang, who visited India between 629 and 645 A.D., tells of the wonderful "Diamond Throne" which, according to the legend, had once stood near the Tree of Knowledge, beneath whose spreading branches Gautama Buddha is said to have received his supreme revelation of truth. This throne had been constructed in the age called the "Kalpa of the Sages"; its origin was contemporaneous with that of the earth, and its foundations were at the centre of all things; it measured one hundred feet in circumference, and was made of a single diamond. When the whole earth was convulsed by storm or earthquake this resplendent throne remained immovable. Upon it the thousand Buddhas of the Kalpa had reposed and had fallen into the "ecstasy of the diamond." However, since the world has passed into the present and last age, sand and earth have completely covered the "Diamond Throne," so that it can no longer be seen by human eye. (Heuen Tsang, "Memories sur les contrees occidentales," French trans. by Stanislas Julien, Paris, 1857.) In the Kalpa Sutra, written in Prakrit, one of the sacred books of the Jains, the rivals of the Buddhists, it is said that Harinegamesi, the divine commander of the foot troops, seized fourteen precious stones, the chief of which was vajra, the diamond, and rejecting their grosser particles, retained only the finer essence to aid him in his transformations. In the same sutra the following glowing description is given of the adornment of the surpassingly beautiful goddess Sri: (Gaina Sutras, trans. from Prakrit by Hermann Jacobi; "Sacred Books of the East," vol. xxii, Oxford, 1884.) On all parts of her body shone ornaments and trinkets, composed of many jewels and precious stones, yellow and red gold. The pure cup-like pair of her breasts sparkled, encircled by a garland of Kunda flowers in which glittered a string of pearls. She wore strings of pearls made by clever and diligent artists, strung with wonderful strings, a necklace of jewels with a string of Dinaras, and a trembling pair of earrings, touching her shoulders, diffused a brilliancy; but the united beauties and charms of these ornaments were only subservient to the loveliness of her face.